Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  August, 2023. Servpro technicians performed some flood mitigation work in our home. During that process, as they were moving equipment in and out of the house, they scratched our front door. They have taken pictures of damage, we also have pictures, and sent a repair man to attempt a repair. He applied stain that covered the undercoat somewhat but left darker streaks on both sides of scratch. The scratch remains and is visible. Two friends have asked us what happened to it. Servpro admits their technicians caused the damage and have apologized many times. Since they cannot fix the scratch we want the door replaced. General Manager, Keith ******, has emailed us to say he considers the matter closed and does not intend to do anything else. Servpro has been very difficult to deal with. They sent a technician to our home without an appointment and he did work while we were not home and unable to approve it. It has taken 2-3 days to get a response to any phone call or email. Servpro has pictures and a copy of the receipt for the door.

  Business response

  11/03/2023

  I find it best to break the complaint down into smaller pieces to keep the facts clear in the matter. In response to the paragraph above, here is our response:

  • There are numerous scratches on the door. Large majority and the worst of the scratches were pre-existing and acknowledged as so by the complainant

  • I am not sure how someone go in to do work unannounced and while nobody was home. Who let them in? Was this on the mitigation side or the gentlemen that came to touch up the door but he met with Mr. *******

  • The scratches remaining visible is very subjective. In insurance there is a standard of acceptable blemishes from various distances etc. Obviously parties will often disagree on what should be acceptable or not

    • We do disagree here because you have to be on top of this scratch and then know precisely where to look to find it

  • Servpro being difficult to deal with is a broad statement. At one point, in the service process the *******’s were extremely happy and gave the service a 10/10 excellent review. I will acknowledge this statement is likely coming from the fact that SERVPRO does not agree to replace an entire door based on small scratches that have been addressed.

  • We have 6-8 emails communicating back and forth regarding setting a time to have someone uninvolved initially do a site visit and share their findings. Mr. Matt ****** did that and a copy of the communications is below.

  • I am not sure why the customer did not upload photos but this is what we have a result of the site visit last month by Matt ****** but below is a pic of the affected area and photo taken from approx. 12-18in away.

    • We have additional photos of different areas of the door that are much more egregious but acknowledged by the complainant that SERVPRO did not do those were there previously.

  
  

  Proposed Resolution: 

  Despite SERVPRO does find the corrections acceptable, we do acknowledge the customer still wants a new door as stated in the complaint. SERVPRO will take the depreciated value of the door based on current insurance guidelines which is $483.55 and split that cost with the customer so they can replace the door. SERVPRO will pay $241.78 to the customer after the door is installed, receipt is provided and SERVPRO be provided the opportunity to visit the site and see the newly installed door. 

  
  

  This pic illustrates a defined scratch pre/post repair efforts. Keep in mind this is extremely small and the lighting was not the same as one pic was taken in the beginning of October by a different person, phone, angle, etc. and the pic on the right was taken on Oct 18th by Matt ****** after visiting the site after the complainant stated the repair was not acceptable and they want a new door. This is only one scratch but it best illustrates the attempted repair to the door. Keeping in mind, the door has numerous scratches prior to SERVPRO. It was difficult to look at the scratches in the door, have pics both before and after with knowing that some scratches were not that made by SERVPRO. This is only an illustration to compare pre/post touch up.

  
  

  Bureau response

  11/03/2023

  Joseph *******
  *** ***** ** ************* **********
  
  
  Dear Joseph *******:
  
  This message is in regard to your complaint submitted on 11/2/2023 against Servpro of Howard County.  Your complaint was assigned ID *********  

   

  BBB has received a formal response from Servpro of Howard County. We ask that you review the response and understand that BBB is here to assist both parties in reaching a fair and reasonable resolution.

  Please review their response to your complaint and advise us of your position in the matter within 5 calendar days. If we do not hear back from you, BBB will assume you are satisfied and will close your complaint as answered.

  Please be sure to indicate whether the business' response is satisfactory or not and how you would like to proceed in this matter.

  If you received this complaint via Postal Mail, you may respond online using the link below or respond by mail using the address above.
  To access/respond to this complaint online:
  Go to: ****************
  Enter the following code: **************

  Sincerely,

  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####

  
  MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:
  
  

  I find it best to break the complaint down into smaller pieces to keep the facts clear in the matter. In response to the paragraph above, here is our response:

  • There are numerous scratches on the door. Large majority and the worst of the scratches were pre-existing and acknowledged as so by the complainant

  • I am not sure how someone go in to do work unannounced and while nobody was home. Who let them in? Was this on the mitigation side or the gentlemen that came to touch up the door but he met with Mr. *******

  • The scratches remaining visible is very subjective. In insurance there is a standard of acceptable blemishes from various distances etc. Obviously parties will often disagree on what should be acceptable or not

    • We do disagree here because you have to be on top of this scratch and then know precisely where to look to find it

  • Servpro being difficult to deal with is a broad statement. At one point, in the service process the *******’s were extremely happy and gave the service a 10/10 excellent review. I will acknowledge this statement is likely coming from the fact that SERVPRO does not agree to replace an entire door based on small scratches that have been addressed.

  • We have 6-8 emails communicating back and forth regarding setting a time to have someone uninvolved initially do a site visit and share their findings. Mr. Matt ****** did that and a copy of the communications is below.

  • I am not sure why the customer did not upload photos but this is what we have a result of the site visit last month by Matt ****** but below is a pic of the affected area and photo taken from approx. 12-18in away.

    • We have additional photos of different areas of the door that are much more egregious but acknowledged by the complainant that SERVPRO did not do those were there previously.

  
  

  Proposed Resolution: 

  Despite SERVPRO does find the corrections acceptable, we do acknowledge the customer still wants a new door as stated in the complaint. SERVPRO will take the depreciated value of the door based on current insurance guidelines which is $483.55 and split that cost with the customer so they can replace the door. SERVPRO will pay $241.78 to the customer after the door is installed, receipt is provided and SERVPRO be provided the opportunity to visit the site and see the newly installed door. 

  
  

  This pic illustrates a defined scratch pre/post repair efforts. Keep in mind this is extremely small and the lighting was not the same as one pic was taken in the beginning of October by a different person, phone, angle, etc. and the pic on the right was taken on Oct 18th by Matt ****** after visiting the site after the complainant stated the repair was not acceptable and they want a new door. This is only one scratch but it best illustrates the attempted repair to the door. Keeping in mind, the door has numerous scratches prior to SERVPRO. It was difficult to look at the scratches in the door, have pics both before and after with knowing that some scratches were not that made by SERVPRO. This is only an illustration to compare pre/post touch up.

  
  

  Bureau response

  11/08/2023

  Keith ******
  Servpro of Howard County ** *** *** ******** ** *****
  
  
  Re: ID # ******** * Joseph *******
  
  Dear Keith ******:
  
  Thank you for your recent response to Joseph *******. We have not yet heard from the consumer and are closing this case as answered.
  
  Following our usual procedure, BBB notified the consumer of your response and requested notification of whether or not a satisfactory resolution had been reached.  Unfortunately, the consumer has not notified our office if they are satisfied. BBB has determined that your company has addressed the issues within the complaint; therefore we have closed this case in our files. This matter will appear in your BBB Business Profile as: "Answered - The Business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer did not accept the response, OR BBB has not heard back from the consumer as to their satisfaction."
  
  The text of your response may be publicly posted on BBB's website. BBB reserves the right to not post in accordance with BBB policy, and we may edit your response to protect privacy rights and to remove inappropriate language. 

   

  In the event the consumer contacts BBB again regarding this issue, we may reach out to you to review any new or additional information we've received from the consumer. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####

  Bureau response

  11/08/2023

  Joseph *******
  *** ***** ** ********** ** ********** 
  
  
  Re: ID * ********- Servpro of Howard County
  
  Dear Joseph *******,
  
  We have not received your response to confirm this complaint has been resolved. Therefore, this complaint has been closed and will appear in the company's BBB Business Profile as: “Answered- BBB has not heard back from the consumer as to their satisfaction with the business's response.” 
  
  Please know that BBB is always available to discuss your case and review additional information. Thank you for using BBB's Marketplace Services.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####
  

  Bureau response

  11/20/2023

  Keith ******
  Servpro of Howard County ** *** *** ******** ** *****
  
  
  Re: ID * ******** - Joseph *******
  
  Dear Keith ******:
  
  Thank you for your recent response to Joseph *******. We have not yet heard from the consumer and are closing this case as answered.
  
  Following our usual procedure, BBB notified the consumer of your response and requested notification of whether or not a satisfactory resolution had been reached.  Unfortunately, the consumer has not notified our office if they are satisfied. BBB has determined that your company has addressed the issues within the complaint; therefore we have closed this case in our files. This matter will appear in your BBB Business Profile as: "Answered - The Business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer did not accept the response, OR BBB has not heard back from the consumer as to their satisfaction."
  
  The text of your response may be publicly posted on BBB's website. BBB reserves the right to not post in accordance with BBB policy, and we may edit your response to protect privacy rights and to remove inappropriate language. 

   

  In the event the consumer contacts BBB again regarding this issue, we may reach out to you to review any new or additional information we've received from the consumer. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####

  Bureau response

  11/20/2023

  Joseph *******
  *** ***** ** ********** ** **********  
  
  
  Re: ID * ********- Servpro of Howard County
  
  Dear Joseph *******,
  
  We have not received your response to confirm this complaint has been resolved. Therefore, this complaint has been closed and will appear in the company's BBB Business Profile as: “Answered- BBB has not heard back from the consumer as to their satisfaction with the business's response.” 
  
  Please know that BBB is always available to discuss your case and review additional information. Thank you for using BBB's Marketplace Services.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####
  

  Bureau response

  11/20/2023

  Joseph *******
  *** ***** ** *********** ** **********
  
  
  Dear Joseph *******:
  
  This message is in regard to your complaint submitted on 11/2/2023 against Servpro of Howard County.  Your complaint was assigned ID ********* 

   

  BBB has received a formal response from Servpro of Howard County. We ask that you review the response and understand that BBB is here to assist both parties in reaching a fair and reasonable resolution.

  Please review their response to your complaint and advise us of your position in the matter within 5 calendar days (in writing via email, fax, postal mail, or complaint portal). If we do not hear back from you, BBB will assume you are satisfied and will close your complaint as answered.  The complaint link should be working now.  If not, please feel free to email your rebuttal directly, via email.

  Please be sure to indicate whether the business' response is satisfactory or not and how you would like to proceed in this matter.

  If you received this complaint via Postal Mail, you may respond online using the link below or respond by mail using the address above.
  To access/respond to this complaint online:
  Go to: ****************
  Enter the following code: **************

  Sincerely,

  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####

  
  MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:
  
  

  I find it best to break the complaint down into smaller pieces to keep the facts clear in the matter. In response to the paragraph above, here is our response:

  • There are numerous scratches on the door. Large majority and the worst of the scratches were pre-existing and acknowledged as so by the complainant

  • I am not sure how someone go in to do work unannounced and while nobody was home. Who let them in? Was this on the mitigation side or the gentlemen that came to touch up the door but he met with Mr. *******

  • The scratches remaining visible is very subjective. In insurance there is a standard of acceptable blemishes from various distances etc. Obviously parties will often disagree on what should be acceptable or not

    • We do disagree here because you have to be on top of this scratch and then know precisely where to look to find it

  • Servpro being difficult to deal with is a broad statement. At one point, in the service process the *******’s were extremely happy and gave the service a 10/10 excellent review. I will acknowledge this statement is likely coming from the fact that SERVPRO does not agree to replace an entire door based on small scratches that have been addressed.

  • We have 6-8 emails communicating back and forth regarding setting a time to have someone uninvolved initially do a site visit and share their findings. Mr. Matt ****** did that and a copy of the communications is below.

  • I am not sure why the customer did not upload photos but this is what we have a result of the site visit last month by Matt ****** but below is a pic of the affected area and photo taken from approx. 12-18in away.

    • We have additional photos of different areas of the door that are much more egregious but acknowledged by the complainant that SERVPRO did not do those were there previously.

  
  

  Proposed Resolution: 

  Despite SERVPRO does find the corrections acceptable, we do acknowledge the customer still wants a new door as stated in the complaint. SERVPRO will take the depreciated value of the door based on current insurance guidelines which is $483.55 and split that cost with the customer so they can replace the door. SERVPRO will pay $241.78 to the customer after the door is installed, receipt is provided and SERVPRO be provided the opportunity to visit the site and see the newly installed door. 

  
  

  This pic illustrates a defined scratch pre/post repair efforts. Keep in mind this is extremely small and the lighting was not the same as one pic was taken in the beginning of October by a different person, phone, angle, etc. and the pic on the right was taken on Oct 18th by Matt ****** after visiting the site after the complainant stated the repair was not acceptable and they want a new door. This is only one scratch but it best illustrates the attempted repair to the door. Keeping in mind, the door has numerous scratches prior to SERVPRO. It was difficult to look at the scratches in the door, have pics both before and after with knowing that some scratches were not that made by SERVPRO. This is only an illustration to compare pre/post touch up.

  
  

  Bureau response

  11/25/2023

  Keith ******
  Servpro of Howard County ** *** *** ******** ** ***** 
  
  
  Re: ID * ******** - Joseph *******
  
  Dear Keith ******:
  
  Thank you for your recent response to Joseph *******. We have not yet heard from the consumer and are closing this case as answered.
  
  Following our usual procedure, BBB notified the consumer of your response and requested notification of whether or not a satisfactory resolution had been reached.  Unfortunately, the consumer has not notified our office if they are satisfied. BBB has determined that your company has addressed the issues within the complaint; therefore we have closed this case in our files. This matter will appear in your BBB Business Profile as: "Answered - The Business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer did not accept the response, OR BBB has not heard back from the consumer as to their satisfaction."
  
  The text of your response may be publicly posted on BBB's website. BBB reserves the right to not post in accordance with BBB policy, and we may edit your response to protect privacy rights and to remove inappropriate language. 

   

  In the event the consumer contacts BBB again regarding this issue, we may reach out to you to review any new or additional information we've received from the consumer. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####

  Bureau response

  11/25/2023

  Joseph *******
  *** ***** ** ********** ** **********  
  
  
  Re: ID * ********* Servpro of Howard County
  
  Dear Joseph *******,
  
  We have not received your response to confirm this complaint has been resolved. Therefore, this complaint has been closed and will appear in the company's BBB Business Profile as: “Answered- BBB has not heard back from the consumer as to their satisfaction with the business's response.” 
  
  Please know that BBB is always available to discuss your case and review additional information. Thank you for using BBB's Marketplace Services.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lisa ****
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  ***********************
  Phone: ###-###-####
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On June 8, 2022 there was a severe rainstorm and tornado in our area that resulted in two water leaks in our basement. We called State Farm and was told over the phone that the damage would be covered and that we should call ServPro to clean up. We called ServPro and they came out two days later. The technician Adam ***** told us that the cleanup would be covered. We asked him this same question several times before he started any work and each time we were told it would be covered. We also asked if he had the authority to make the decision. We were told that he did. With this assurance, we allowed them to do what they said needed to be done. We also questioned why they needed to cut up such a large area of carpet, padding, and molding more than 3 feet away from any wet area. These extended areas were in not wet. Adam took a number of photographs. Subsequently I've had two inspectors here and they agree the amount of carpet and molding removed was excessive. State Farm has now told us that they are denying the claim and we are stuck with a $3000.00 bill from ServPro for something they told us would be covered.

  Business response

  08/31/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/10) */ Hi ******* we are in receipt of the complaint below. The situation is unfortuante. I will provide all of the data necessary. It appears this customers policy did not include coverage for an outside water intrusion. That type of coverage is either elected or declined by a consumer when they get their insurance policy. In this case, the customer stated in his complaint that "We called State Farm and was told over the phone that the damage would be covered and that we should call ServPro to clean up". His argument should not be with SERVPRO as we were not part of the discussion between himself and the carrier. However, once he learned he did not have coverage for this type of water loss he was upset and clearly wanted to have someone be responsible. His request failed with State Farm as what appears to be coverage not elected. The technicians rarely have any idea of coverage, how that works, denials, etc. They present the paperwork to the client which I have attached here that clearly states if this is not covered the homeowner and the one signing the document is solely responsible for the bill. Please see attached. I can provide much more to you like moisture readings to show the areas that were wet. I am not certain which professionals he cited as coming in and saying our efforts were in excess. If the loss was not covered it would seem counterintuitive to hire others to come in and assess the situation. We have the moisture reports which show what was wet and where. Those can be a bit hard to follow if you are not in the industry but I am happy to explain further. We did offer the relief requested and offered $300 reduction in the bill. We are viewing that as not acceptable by Mr. ******** because he then filed a this complaint. I do not see where Mr. ******** mentioned our offer in the complaint. I can understand that he is upset. The work was necessary to be done and SERVPRO did the work. We will gladly still offer the $300 credit to his account which I have notified accounting. Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/08/11) */ BBB and Mr. ******** I want to apologize for sending an email outside of the complaint filed. I want to be very clear that we want to resolve your issue thus why we are so attentive to the matter at hand. We rec'd the comaplint from BBB and we responded. We responded with our accounts of the situation. We responded within hours of the request. The bottom portion of the complaint the consumer is asked what they would like as a resolution. Mr. ******** stated - "We want an adjustment of the charges since we were told it would be covered". We acknowledged that request and honored it in our response by stating we would happily provide and adjustment in charges of $300. In closing, we have responded to the complaint as directed and we honored the relief/resolution that was requested. SERVPRO does not assist homeowners in selecting insurance carriers or the selected coverages. As previously stated, we are not aware of the conversation that the customer had with their insurance carrier as stated in the original complaint "We called State Farm and was told over the phone that the damage would be covered and that we should call ServPro to clean up". We were not on that conversation. We came out, mitigated the loss and rec'd a positive Certificate of Satisfaction from the customer in which they signed. While this case is open, we should only communicate via this process and no emails or phone calls should be made or attempted resolution beyond this case until the case has been closed by the BBB. I feel SERVPRO has done everything requested of them in this matter. However, we are happy to further discuss but we cannot run multiple processes simultaneously as that creates confusion.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩